How to Get the Biggest Mental-Health Boost from 15 Minutes Outdoors [View all]
by Angela Haupt
Jun 3, 2026 10:37 AM ET
Nearly two decades ago, while working as a researcher at the University of Derby in England, Miles Richardson started taking daily walks to recover from long days behind a desk. Around the same time, he got his first iPhone and began using it to jot down notes about everything he noticed on those outings—from birdsong and budding flowers to shifts in the weather and changing seasons. After his first year, he had amassed some 50,000 words of observations.
“That had quite a profound impact,” Richardson says. “It changed my relationship with nature.”
He kept up the practice for another year, eventually compiling 100,000 words’ worth of notes. The experience convinced him that intentionally noticing nature could boost well-being and deepen people’s relationship with the natural world. It also inspired a new career path. “I quite literally wandered into it,” he says.
Richardson went on to create the Nature Connectedness Research Group at the University of Derby in 2013 and became one of the world’s leading researchers on nature connectedness—the idea that feeling emotionally tied to nature is distinct from simply spending time outdoors. His research suggests that connection doesn’t mean you have to log hours every day roaming among towering redwoods, misty peaks, and roaring waterfalls; it’s less about how long you spend outside than what you do while you’re there. The key is actually noticing your surroundings, he says, whether you’re in a corn field or at the corner of a city street.
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https://time.com/article/2026/06/03/nature-mental-health-boost/
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